why do i need a credit card to buy linden when i have a paypal account?

[JustOnceAgain]

I used to have a paypal account a few months ago and everything went smooth using it but I forgot the email address and password.  I just started a new paypal account and now in order to use it I need a credit card as well?  If I had a credit card I would not need a paypal account.  I also have a debit card to my bank but it is not a credit card that you accept.  I dont understand what is going on, please explain.

[Rolig Loon]

You don't.  Let's take a look at what Linden Lab actually says.  I'll highlight the confusing part.

PayPal

Often the initial agreement can't be set up due to an unverified PayPal account. To use your PayPal account with Linden Lab, it must be verified and be capable of making instant transfers.

Linden Lab does not accept e-check (bank account) payments through PayPal because they cannot be processed quickly enough to match the instant delivery of virtual goods and services.  Therefore, we require that you have a credit card on file with PayPal as a backup payment source, OR that you pay with your PayPal balance in USD. Without a sufficient USD balance in your PayPal account, you will not be able to use it with only a bank account.

So, there are two conditions: (1) you need a verified payment method and (2) it has to be capable of instant transfers.  PayPal offers two options for verification, both of which satisfy the first requirement: (a) you can have a credit card serve as the backup to verify that there's money behind your PayPal account or (b) You can have a bank account do the same thing.  As far as Linden Lab is concerned,  both are good but option (a) is better because it also satisfies their condition (2).  Banks can't make instant transfers to PayPal.  Linden Lab recognizes that some people don't have access to credit cards, though, so they will let people use option (b) if they always keep enough cash in their PayPal accounts to cover immediate needs. 

Therefore, you are free to use a bank account as your verified backup for PayPal, instead of using a credit card.  Before you use PayPal to pay Linden Lab, though, just be sure to transfer some money into the PayPal account to cover it.  In practice, it doesn't matter where that money comes from. You might transfer it from your bank account or you might use some other source that Linden Lab doesn't know about (or care about), like your debit card.  All that counts is that the cash is there to pay your bill.

 

 

[KarenMichelle Lane]

How the heck do you forget something so important as your PayPal account email address and password. You can't do anything with PayPal without a verified email account. All billing, bank & payment options access is through this login information. PayPal hates it when an existing customer attempts to set up a duplicate account. Something doesn't pass the smell test.

[Rolig Loon]

Oh, I dunno. I have to consult a two-page list of account numbers, user IDs, and passwords every time I go so use an on-line system It's not just that my brain is old and decrepit. There's just too much danged information to hold in your head these days. I don't use my PayPal account often enough to remember the details off the top of my head. Maybe the OP doesn't either, and then lost his handy list .......

[KarenMichelle Lane]

True true, /me Thanks God for my pedantic ability to memorize things and recall them at the age I am.